Say 'I Love You' With A Lab-Made Diamond

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Many sweethearts will be saying 'I love you' this Valentine's Day with a lab-made diamond.

For years, Hollywood and advertisers have been telling us diamonds are forever, but there's a sequel being written with these new gems.

Virtually everyone -- from consumers to retailers -- agrees, you can't tell them apart from the real thing. Even veteran diamond cutters can't tell the difference.

This cuts like a diamond and looks like a diamond," says Russ Caplan of Topper Jewelers. "Very high tech and cool. They are environmentally friendly and sustainable. They do not come out of an ugly strip mine and there is no particular overtime limitation on how many they are ultimately going to make."

Lab-made diamonds are created in about two weeks. Slivers of mined diamonds are heated, pressurized and grown layer by layer just like a natural crystal.

The potential for unlimited production and huge profits have grabbed big dollars and big names in Silicon Valley -- folks looking to cash in on this latest start-up craze.

Master diamond cutter Maarten De Witte says he hopes to brand Diamond Foundry diamonds as California grown and cut.

"The earth quit making diamonds a long time ago," says De Witte. "The diamonds that we mine have been made a long time ago and they will run out."

Still, ForeverMark President Charles Stanley sees a very different present and future for the diamond industry. He cites its benefits to countries like Botswana.

"Four billion dollars on average annually go back into the country from the diamonds that are sold there," he says. "That is equivalent to some 25% of the countries GDP."

"That money gets invested by the government into infrastructure development, in also wider health and educational programs," he says.

Furthermore, Stanley believes consumers want to mark milestones in their lives with objects that are real and that can last forever.

But that could soon change. Most lab grown diamonds have something perhaps even more appealing than romance: the price tag. They usually cost about 30-40% less than mined diamonds.

However, it is still not clear whether lab-created diamonds will hold their value over time.